Conventional garage doors may be formed of a single panel, or as a sectional garage door, may be formed of two or more jointed panels.
Standard garage door sizes commonly used in the garage door industry may be characterized as single, double or commercial. A double garage door may, for example, have a measurement of 16 feet wide by 7 feet high, and have a mass of up to 225 pounds. Commercial garage doors may measure up to 32 feet in width and up to 24 feet in height.
A number of techniques exist to move a garage door between a closed position and an open position. For example, a single panel garage door may tilt between a closed position and an open position using jamb-type hardware to swing up and overhead with a hinge on each side. Alternatively, a sectional garage door may have rollers that follow along a track and may be actuated by a hinge on each side of the garage door. The sectional garage door may move between a closed position and an open position overhead along a track, and the jointed panels articulate as the door moves between a closed and open position.
Mechanisms used to operate movement of a sectional garage door between a closed position and an open position may also be spring-loaded. For example, in a torsion spring lift mechanism, a torsion spring is attached to cable drums that are above each end of the garage door. The cable drums turn as the torsion spring unwinds, pulling up cables that are affixed to the bottom of each end of the garage door. As the cables wrap around the cable drums, the garage door lifts and the panels roll along an arcuate track from a vertical section to an overhead horizontal section. As the garage door rises and the torsion spring unwinds, the weight of the door is transferred to the horizontal section of the track.
An extension spring lift mechanism acts as a counterbalance to the mass of a sectional garage door. In a closed position, the spring is extended to its longest length, and when moved into a vertical position, a cable runs via a pulley system between the spring and the bottom of the garage door to lift the garage door as the spring contracts. As the garage door rises, the panels of the garage door roll along an arcuate track from a vertical section to an overhead horizontal section.
Such traditional garage door openers have a number of moving parts, including springs, cables, and pulleys, that are vulnerable to break down from normal operating wear. A commercial underground parking garage may require thousands of cycles of closing and opening of a garage door per year. The strain on such traditional systems may cause hundreds of breakdowns, causing downtime, and tens of thousands of dollars in repairs a year to keep operational.
Accordingly, there is a need for a way to move a garage door between a closed position and an open position with a longer lifespan, less downtime, and reduced operating and repair costs.